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REPORTER: Stephen Smith thank you for your time today, we're all watching on in horror at the tragedy in Haiti, you've announced an initial aid package from Australia. Can you explain to us what that consists of and also what the Government's approach will be when it comes to ongoing support?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well it is a terrible human tragedy on an enormous scale and I think the whole world's been affected the terrible tragedy. We express again our condolences to the people of Haiti. But I've announced today a $10 million initial package of assistance to Haiti. Five million will be emergency, immediate emergency assistance for medicines, emergency shelter, food and the like. That will be done through the United Nations agencies including the World Food Programme. Also done through non-government organisations on the ground where there is a presence of international and Australian NGOs. And also done through the Caribbean Emergency Disaster Management Authority.

I've also announced $5 million of longer term reconstruction which we expect will go to public buildings and the like. But that will be the subject of United Nations assessment. I’ve also indicated if it is appropriate we will look to giving a further contribution down the track because of the scale of the crisis. But also because at the end of the last year we strengthened and enhanced our relationship with the countries of the Caribbean including Haiti.

Through the regional organisation CARICOM we signed a memorandum of understanding, and one of the aspects of that memorandum of understanding is disaster relief and disaster management. So we're making a significant contribution, but given the scale of the disaster and our strengthened relations with the Caribbean region we believe it's entirely appropriate.

REPORTER: We of course all have enormous sympathy for the Haitians in the wake of this devastation. It is your job of course though and the job of your Department to monitor the safety of Australians abroad. What is the detail on that when it comes to Australians in Haiti?

STEPHEN SMITH: The scale so far as the people in the area are concerned is the awful reality of perhaps tens of thousands killed. We know for example that the United Nations has already announced 16 dead and a number missing.

So far as Australians are concerned, which is of course our immediate priority, when the earthquake occurred we had one registered Australian in Haiti, and he's been accounted for. But of course there are always more Australians in any country than are registered.

Earlier today I indicated that we had safely accounted for 19 Australians, including the one who was registered, those 19 also included six Australians working with and for the United Nations. Also earlier today I made the point that we were concerned there was one Australian working with the United Nations for whom we couldn't account.

I'm very pleased to advise that in the last hour or so we've received advice from family and friends that the seventh Australian known to be working with and for the United Nations in Haiti has been accounted for. So we now have 20 Australians safely accounted for.

There's a small number of Australians who we believe may be in Haiti. I say it's a small number, a handful, and we're working very hard both with the United Nations and with Canadian and United States officials to try and trace the whereabouts of these small number of Australians.

We’re working very hard, but communications are difficult and of course it's now about 10 o'clock at night in Haiti. But we're working very assiduously to try and ascertain the whereabouts of a small number of Australians who may have been in Haiti at the time of the earthquake.

REPORTER: Okay but that one Australian who you had concerns for who remained unaccounted for that worked at the United Nations has since made contact. This other number of people, are they tourists or Government officials?

STEPHEN SMITH: If I can just make a point that we were very concerned for the welfare of an Australian who, on the advice of the United Nations was in Haiti at the time. But I'm very pleased that as a result of advice we've received from family and friends, we can safely account for him.

I'm not proposing to go into detail of others who may have been in Haiti at the time, for family and privacy reasons so I'm not proposing to go into any detail.

In circumstances like these, in these terrible circumstances we always have to be careful about making judgements and, as I say, there may be a small number of Australians who were in Haiti and we're doing our best to track them down. What we do find in these circumstances is often that people who we believe may have been in Haiti or in the country where there's a tragedy, are ultimately shown to be somewhere else. So we take it step by step.

Of course any family member or friend who believes that some Australian may have been in Haiti should contact our usual Consular emergency number 1300 555 135, and we will not only find that information helpful but we'll obviously act to track people down.

I do make this point. To date, of course, we have got no evidence which would indicate that any Australian has either been injured or killed or caught up in the earthquake. But we take it step by step. And we've been very vigilant about trying to track these Australians down.

REPORTER: Okay, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, spoke to you. She phoned you to let you know that she wouldn't be coming to Australia for the annual AUSMIN talks next week. They've since been postponed. When… did you discuss a likely time to reschedule?

STEPHEN SMITH: Well, Secretary of State Clinton rang me in the early hours of this morning, Perth time. We spoke about the crisis in Haiti, and we spoke about her trip and the AUSMIN meetings. She advised that given her responsibilities and the responsibilities of the United States to help coordinate and lead the disaster relief effort, she would have to return to Washington, and postpone and put off her trip.

We agreed it was, in those circumstances, appropriate to postpone the AUSMIN talks. And as a consequence, Secretary of Defence Gates has also recently confirmed that he won't be visiting Australia.

But we agreed that we would reschedule and reconvene AUSMIN, in Australia, at a mutually convenient time in the course of this year. Obviously in the circumstances we're not in the position to put a time or a timetable on that.

But she was very apologetic, and very regretful.

But in the circumstances, given the proximity of Haiti to the United States, the presence of a large number of United States citizens in Haiti, and their role in the region, we obviously understand, very much, the need for her to return, and the postponement or deferral of AUSMIN.

Of course it's a matter of regret. But these things happen. And we entirely understand the reasons for her return to the United States.

REPORTER: Absolutely. Well I know you can't put a time - a specific time on it. But would it be within months that you'd expect this to be rescheduled? And is there any matter of urgency that you'll have to sign off on beforehand, say, over the phone or through other - through your officials?

STEPHEN SMITH: We'll certainly have it in the course of this year, both Secretary Clinton and I would prefer to have it sooner rather than later. But given her demands and usual scheduling difficulties, I'm not proposing to put a timetable on it. It's the 25th anniversary of AUSMIN talks, so we'll do it in the course of this year in Australia. But we have agreed that

we want to do it at a mutually convenient time as soon as possible. So far as issues of importance are concerned, AUSMIN of course is the annual regular ministerial consultations.

Defence Minister Faulkner speaks to Secretary of Defence Gates on a regular basis. I expect that when I go to London later this month for the Afghanistan conference that I'll have the opportunity of speaking with Secretary Clinton.

But if anything emerges which needs to be dealt with quickly, such is the nature of the relationship between Australia and the United States, that we do it by phone, and we do it through officials. So we're not concerned that anything has been put off unnecessarily.

Certainly we have ongoing discussions with our United States ally partner about the difficult security and strategic issues that we face, particularly Afghanistan, particularly nuclear issues like North Korea and Iran.

But I'm expecting to have the opportunity of speaking to Secretary Clinton again in London this month towards the end of this month for the Afghanistan conference.

REPORTER: Okay. Just one final thing. We're almost out of time - but I just want to quickly get your thoughts on a threat made by a militant Hindu group in Mumbai against Australian cricketers heading over there for the Indian Premier League. Would you advise them not to go, those cricketers?

STEPHEN SMITH: I don't make comment on particular threats or assertions. This has come from a provincial political party, and they've made comments about disrupting cricket in the past, and they've also disrupted some cricket games.

We take any threat against Australian teams seriously, and in the last couple of years, we've developed a very close relationship with Cricket Australia, so far as Australian cricket teams and individuals playing overseas are concerned.

So we make sure that Australian cricketers, through Cricket Australia, have got the most recent travel and security advice. We do that for cricket tours. And we've also made a point of ensuring we do it for individual players taking part in Twenty20 competitions and the like.

In the end it's a matter for Cricket Australia and the individual cricketers to make a judgment about whether they travel and play overseas.

We make sure that they're in receipt of the most recent advice, and as a consequence of this most recent suggestion, Cricket Australia and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials will be having one of their regular conversations today.

More generally of course we've got some significant sporting events occurring in India this year: the Hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. And we're in very close contact with Indian officials over the security arrangements for those matters. But in the end it's a matter for the sporting bodies and the sports men and sports women themselves.

REPORTER: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, as always, appreciate your time today on Sky News. Thank you.

STEPHEN SMITH: Pleasure. Thanks very much.

ENDS

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